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Daily Bullets (May 18)

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Hope Rises

The 2017 offense gives something that Oklahoma State fans have rarely tasted.

Based solely on final AP poll rankings, Oklahoma State has had only three football seasons better than 2016. The 10-3 Cowboys finished 11th, capping their season with an Alamo Bowl romp over Colorado to tie for their fourth-best AP finish ever behind 2011 (third), 1945 (fifth) and 1984 (seventh).

While something always seems to go wrong to prevent Oklahoma State from breaking through the ceiling attached to the program, like that Central Michigan debacle, there is hope for something more in 2017. Thanks to a crucial announcement on Dec. 27, Oklahoma State is going to be a force to be reckoned with, owning an offense with the potential to rival the Brandon Weeden/Justin Blackmon-led unit in 2011 that scored 48.7 points per game. [SportsOnEarth]

What’s so unique about 2017 is the (macro-level) crescendo that was 2016. It’s unusual, especially over the tenure of the program, for an Oklahoma State team to get to double-digit wins then saddle up for another run with that nucleus intact.

The 2017 team will have a chance to pick up where the 2016 team left off, potentially serving as a base camp for the 2017 team to summit from.

Note: 48.7 points per game is absolutely absurd.

Year of the Big 12

There’s a growing sentiment 2017 could be the year for the Big 12.

The conference has been the least effective Power Five contender in the college football playoffs. Regular realignment talks chip away at its stability. But despite all of that, don’t start shoveling dirt over its grave just yet.

When I started projecting out to the 2018 NFL Draft recently, I looked up and five of my top 32 prospects were out of the Big 12. In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Big 12 had two of the top 72 picks (and four of the top 100). My projections don’t make it a reality but it brought to my attention what is the very real possibility: 2017 is the year the Big 12 is back. Let’s review a few contenders:

Oklahoma is Oklahoma. Bob Stoops’ squad has been the saving grace of the conference and he returns a Heisman Trophy finalist at quarterback in Baker Mayfield and one of the nation’s top offensive coordinators in Lincoln Riley. OU also has names like Jordan Thomas, Orlando Brown and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo that will significantly deepen the Big 12 NFL Draft pool next season.

Oklahoma State is a consensus top 15 team in most early Top 25s due to the return of one of the nation’s most explosive offenses led by QB Mason Rudolph and WR James Washington – both potential-first round picks in spring. [247Sports]

So three reasons: draft picks are coming, OU will OU and OSU will challenge. It goes on to talk about the meat below the Bedlam upper-crust and it’s a good looking Big 12 sandwich.

OSU and NCAA Notes

James Washington named the top returning receiver in college football….Mark Cooper previews OSU’s trip to South Alabama this fall….Congrats to OSU’s football-specific sports info department on being named top 11….Another disturbing Baylor lawsuit emerged yesterday….Update your Twitter header with this beauty….Cowboy defensive backs rank fifth in the Big 12

Bedlam baseball opens tonight in Tulsa.

Where does efficiency rank in the “I love that Mason has this” qualities? It’s pretty all-encompassing but it’s up there by his touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Also, you won’t want to see this but can’t believe this guy had the most efficient season ever last year.

That’s a 98.59 percent success rate of getting to college golf’s last tournament – super impressive.

What You Missed on PFB
Other Stuff I’m Reading

Fallon did a hilarious bit where an MLB rookie interviewed people incognito….A solid mock updated after the NBA lottery….Jimmie Tramel on a mother of ten (!) is awe-inspiring

Shake Shack feels overrated but not much else to argue with here.

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